Not The Girl He Buried

Elena.

Strange feelings.

I hadn’t moved from the spot where Thorne left me.

My lips still burned from his kiss.

Not just because it was rough or because it stole the breath out of me, but because I kissed him back.

I wanted it.

And I hated myself for that.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my fingers gripping the sheets like they’d anchor me to something real. Something sane.

But there was nothing sane about this place. About this man. About me anymore.

What was happening to me?

He was cruel. Dangerous. Twisted beyond redemption. And yet, when he looked at me with that mix of hunger and confusion, it made something in my chest ache.

Like he was searching for something in me he didn’t understand.

And I… I was starting to wonder if I was searching too.

I rose and walked to the mirror, staring at the version of myself I barely recognized.

This wasn’t the Elena that starved herself for three days. The one who avoided fire, not danced in it.

“Get a grip,” I whispered.

Because if I didn’t, this wasn’t just going to end in heartbreak.

It was going to end in ruin.

The door swung open without a knock. Just like that. No warning, no apology, just audacity wrapped in heels and perfume.

Lucia.

Of course.

She strutted in like she owned the place, like her presence alone was a weapon.

Her expression? Sharp. Deliberate.

That smug curve on her lips told me exactly what she came for: to remind me that I was in Thorne's world, not mine.

"Still here?" she said, eyeing me like I was something she’d scrape off her heel. “Thought you’d have tried to run by now. Brave of you. Or maybe… just stupid.”

I didn’t move. Didn't flinch. I was tired, tired of being rattled by everyone in this house pretending they were more dangerous than they looked.

I met her gaze through the mirror, my voice flat.

“Get to the point, Lucia.”

She walked closer, arms crossed, her tone syrupy with fake concern. “You think he’s soft because he kisses you like that? Because he lets you breathe while you sleep in his bed?” She leaned in, lowering her voice. “You try to escape, Elena, and I promise you, what he did to the last girl will look merciful.”

I turned, finally, facing her fully. “I’m not scared of what Thorne will do.”

She laughed. “Then you’re dumber than I thought.”

“No,” I said, stepping toward her, calm but firm. “I’m not like you, falling in love with someone like Thorne who has no feelings for you, huh?”

Her smile faltered, just a flicker.

She didn’t expect that.

“You’re too comfortable,” she said, circling me like I was a stray she needed to cage.

I wasn’t in the mood for lectures from his watchdog.

She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “You don’t know the man you're lying next to. You think he's soft because he lets you breathe without choking?”

Still, I didn’t flinch.

I finally turned to her, meeting her eyes dead-on. “If that’s meant to scare me, save it. I’ve already survived worse than him.”

Her expression cracked for a second. Just a second. Then it hardened again.

“You won’t last,” she muttered, heading for the door.

Before she could reach the door, I spoke, voice calm but laced with venom.

“Do you really have feelings for him?”

She froze, her hand still on the doorframe. Slowly, she turned, her face carefully blank but her silence told me everything.

I let a smirk curl at my lips. “If you ever decide to chase those feelings… you’ll die before you even know it. Leave this house while you still can.”

Lucia’s eyes narrowed. “You ignorant little girl,” she whispered, stepping back inside. “You think you’ve tasted the real Thorne? He gave you a slice of his breath, and now you think you own the air in his lungs?”

Why will I ever think of owning that son of a demon?

She walked closer, towering in her confidence. “Thorne left this house in my care. I run this place. I protect it. I protect him.”

I didn’t step back. I stood taller. “No. You follow orders. You fetch and bark on command. That’s not protection, it’s servitude.”

Her jaw tensed. She laughed hard, but there was a break in her voice, one she didn’t want me to hear. “I see what you’re trying to do. But careful, princess. In this house, sympathy is the first thing that gets people killed.”

She turned and stormed out like she’d won something.

But I just watched her go… knowing she’d already lost.

I needed space, something cold, something that wouldn’t feel like him. A beer. That would do.

I slipped out of the room quietly, shutting the door with care. The halls were dimly lit, unnervingly silent.

I had no idea where the brewery store was, but if I circled enough, I was bound to find it.

Then I saw it, the door to the torture room. My stomach knotted. I frowned and kept moving, determined to forget what kind of house I was stuck in.

But a sharp, medicinal scent pulled me in another direction. I followed it absently and found myself in front of a door I hadn’t noticed before.

I pushed it open.

A pharmacy?

What the hell?

My curiosity led me inside before I could think twice. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular… until I saw it. Misoprostol.

Even those without medical knowledge knew what it was.

An abortion drug.

Two pills could end a pregnancy within hours. Painful, yes, but depending on how far along the pregnancy was, maybe mine would be bearable. It's barely a month old.

A dozen would be faster. Harsher. But effective.

My fingers wrapped around the box, slipping it under my sleeve just as the door creaked behind me.

“What are you looking for, woman?”

I froze.

“I asked you a question,” a deep voice said behind me. His face seems rugged. His beard was left unshaved for long.

One of Thorne’s guards.

I swallowed hard, masking my tremble. “I was… I was looking for the brewery. Took a wrong turn.”

He narrowed his eyes, then jerked his chin. “Two doors down on your right.”

I nodded, walking past him, my heart thudding in my chest. I could feel the pills pressing against my skin under the fabric. Still there.

Instead of heading to the brewery, I veered off to the one place I knew like the back of my hand here. The dungeon.

The one place I was sure no one would hear me scream.

If I was going to do this, it had to be now.

Before I lost my resolve. According to Lucia, Thorne should be somewhere dark by now holding ungodly meetings, and taking evil deals.

Now is the time.